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J. K. THOMPSON & G. R. RAGE.

RAILWAY RAIL CHAIR.

No. 805,864. Patented Sept. 30,1884.

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RAILWAY RAIL CHAIR. No. 305,864. Patented Sept. 30, 1884.

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RAILWAY RAIL CHAIR.

No. 305,864. Patented Sept. 30, 1884.

JI I 1 m? UNITED STATES PATENT JAMES KNAPTON THOMPSON ANb GEORGE RICHARDRAGE, OF LEEDS, COUNTY OF YORK, ENGLAND.

RAILWAY-RAIL CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 305,864, datedSeptember 30, 1884.

Application filed February I, 1884. (No model.) Patented in England July23, 1583,1i0. 3,612; in France January 22. 1884,

No. l59,"55, and in Belgium January 23, 1884, No. 63,928.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JAMES KNAPTON THOMPSON, of Leeds, in the county ofYork, England, civil engineer, and GEORGE RIGH- ARI) Race, of Leeds,aforesaid, gentleman, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in the Shape andConstruction of Railway Chairs and Keys, (for which we have receivedLetters Patent in- Great Britain, No. 3,612, dated July 23, 1883; inFrance, No. 159,855, dated January 22, 1884., and in Belgium, No.63,928, dated January 23, 1884,) of which the following is aspecification. v

Our invention relates to improvements in railway-chairs of the class inwhich the rail ends are secured in the jaws of a chairlone of which jawsis toothed on its inner surface) by means of a wooden key driven betweenthe toothed jaw of the chair and the adjacent sides of the abutting endsof the rails.

The special feature of this chair is that it provides for the mostsecure and effectual grip of the wooden keys or wedges which are drivenin between the rails and the chair to wedge up and hold the rails ofpermanent way in exact position. The shape and construction of the chairis such that when the wedge is driven into place it cannot fall or slipout again in the direction in which it was driven, but, on the contrary,is by the weight and force of passing trains driven farther forward, andas it is of wedge or taper-shape, being half an inch thinner at thepoint than at the driving end, or of such other similar section as maybe found most suitable, it is obvious that the key must remain a tightfit till it has been forced through the whole length of the chair. Whenthe chair is in position, the jaw or face which touches one side of therail, and which may be either the inside or the outside jaw, as may befound most advantageous under special circumstances, is smooth and ofsuch a form that it accurately fits the particular section of rail inuse flush with the web and round the bottom bulb, and on the other sideof the rail or permanent way thejaw is made one-half (more or less)wider at the end where the key or wedge enters than at the oppositeend--or, in

other words, has a wedge-shape opening, the narrower end being placed inthe direction in which the trains run. The face and seat of the jaw onthis side of the chair is serrated, or has a number ofvertically-extending ratchet-like teeth or barbs similar in shape tosawteeth the full depth of the chair, and at such an angle or positionthat they firmly grip and permanently retain the key or wooden wedgeuntil it has passed over the last projection or tooth in the jaw of thechair. Whenever the key requires to be tightened, it is simply necessaryto drive it forward until it has passed over one tooth, thus giving afresh hold or biting place in new wood for every tooth.

In order that our said invention may be most fully understood andreadily carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the draw ingshereunto annexed.

. In the drawings, Figure 1 shows in perspective a railway-chairconstructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontalsection of the same. through the jaws of the chair, the web of the rail,and the wooden key. Fig. 3 is a vertical section.

The jaw of the chair, against which the key bears, is grooved verticallyfrom top to bottom of the surface which comes into contact with the key.The grooves are so formed as to leave vertically-extending projectingteeth. These teeth are of ratchet-like form-that is to say, they arethroughout their length inclined on one side (the side next the butt-endof the wedge-key) to permit the key to be driven freely, and on theother side the faces of the teeth are abruptly shouldered, or are atright angles to the direction in which the key is inserted. The jaw ofthe chair is inclined at a considerable angle to the web of the rail,the opening in the chair being thus made wider at one end than at theother, and the wooden key is tapered to a corresponding form. Inconsequence of this shape being given to the chair and key, the thusformed wedge-like key, when it is inserted with its narrower endforemost at the wider end of the chair-opening, requires to be drivenbut a short distance forward in order to tighten it The section is taken7 upon .the web of the rail., The teeth in the jaw of the chair when thekeyis driven penetrate to some extent into the wood and hold the key sothat it cannot return, for any backward motion is directly opposed bythe rightangle faces of the teeth. The keys should be driven in thedirection in which the trains usually pass along the line of rails, andthen the traffio on the line will tend to carry them forward and tightenthem upon the rails.

The chairs are made right and left, to adinit of this being the case onboth sides of the We do not broadly claim either a railwaychair having ajaw provided with teeth or ridges, or a railway-chair having an inclinedjaw, or a railwaychair having ratchet-like teeth, or the combination ofrails, a chair be tween the jaws of which the rail ends are received,and a wedge-like key driven between the rails and one of thejaws of thechair, as, un

qualifiedly considered, such constructions and V combination are olderthan our improvements.

. Having thus described the nature of our 1. The hereinbefore-describedrailway-chair having the opening for the rail wider at one end than atthe other, and provided at one side of the opening with thevertically-ere tending ratchet-like teeth, the inclined sides of whichare next the wider end of the opening in the chair, as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. The combination of the rail, the chair having the opening for therail wider at one end than at the other, and having at one side of theopening the vertieally-extending ratchet-like teeth, with their inclinedsides next the wider end of the opening in the chair, and the wedge-likewooden key, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JAMES KNAPTON THOMPSON. GEORGE RICHARD RAGE.

Witnesses:

F. P. SHAOKLETON, BENJAMIN HAMPSHIRE.

